SLO homeless organization just got a massive donation from one of the world’s richest men
A San Luis Obispo homeless organization has just received its largest gift ever — and it comes from a famous donor.
The Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo (CAPSLO) announced Tuesday morning that it was one of 40 homeless service organizations to receive a grant from Jeff Bezos’ Day 1 Families Fund.
CAPSLO received $5 million, out of $123.45 million given out in the program’s fifth year.
“I joined CAPSLO in 1978 and never in my 44 years have we received such a generous and impactful gift from a private donor,” CAPSLO CEO Elizabeth Steinberg said in a news release. “We feel honored to be recognized for our work in the community. This gift will help us expand our work housing homeless families in San Luis Obispo County.”
According to CAPSLO’s news release, the organization was selected as a funding recipient by a group of national advisers on homelessness service provision.
The funding will be used over the next five years to create permanent housing for homeless families, the release said.
CAPSLO will also increase its case management program and deploy more full-time housing navigators throughout the county, the release said.
“Over the last year, we have seen an increase in families at CAPSLO’s 40 Prado Homeless Services Center; it is great to have this additional funding to address the specific needs of families experiencing homelessness,” CAPSLO Board President Dee Lacey said in the release. “As we establish additional services, the need for ongoing community support, county coordination, service provider collaboration, and resource development will be crucial to addressing the housing crisis.”
Lawren Ramos, community services programs director at CAPSLO, said being asked to apply came as a surprise.
“We were shocked and really grateful when (Day 1 Families Fund) reached out in August, to ask us to apply,” Ramos said. “Apparently, they have an independent advisory board of homelessness experts that’s nationally based, that makes recommendations of organizations that they think could apply for this funding, so we don’t even know really who recommended us.”
Ramos said with the funding secured, CAPSLO will look to its partners to determine the best use for the money.
Ramos said permanent housing for SLO’s homeless families could look like purchasing a hotel and converting it into housing, or making investments in homes or other existing housing structures.
“When we put together a proposal for this grant, up to half can be used for permanent, long-term housing solutions,” Ramos said. “We’ll look to meet with our partners, and then the county and see what long-term housing options are available specifically for families.”
The $5 million will be used over the span of five years, CAPSLO Homeless Services Director Jack Lahey said.
That represents a significant annual increase in funding for the organization, even with the heightened funding received from the CARES Act, which increased CAPSLO’s annual budget to around $3 million in the last year.
Lahey said he was proud of the work that CAPSLO had done to qualify it for the funding over the past several years.
“If you looked on the list of folks who have been awarded this (grant) since 2018, and you match it up against who’s making the biggest impacts in continuums around homelessness, it’s kind of one for one,” Lahey said. “They seek out agencies that are regionally able to make this (funding) incredibly effective.”
In its first five years, the Day 1 Families Fund has distributed more than $520 million to organizations working to fight homelessness across 45 states.
This story was originally published November 22, 2022 at 4:33 PM.
